Korea's first concert hall dedicated to K-pop opened its doors to the public on Wednesday in Seoul.
Olympic Hall has been used for concerts in the past, but it wasn't suitable as a concert hall since it was originally built as a tennis court.
After a year of construction and renovation, the venue has been transformed to seat up to 3-thousand people and been upgraded with an improved sound system to make it more suitable for music performances.
Plus, visitors to the opening were greeted by a special exhibition in the lobby, outlining the history of K-pop from the 1920s all the way to the 2000s.
Nearby, a 240-seat small venue was also built to host concerts for indie bands and rising artists.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been spearheading this project, and the minister shared an optimistic outlook about the new K-pop hall serving as a gateway for spreading the Korean Wave to overseas fans.

[Interview : Roxane Deffit, French K-pop fan] "So it's really exciting to attend the K-Pop concerts and for the first time I will be able to attend it in Seoul. I don't really know what to expect but it's really exciting"

To celebrate Wednesday's opening, K-pop stars from the past and present performed on stage attracting hundreds of fans from around the country.
Performances by iconic stars from the 60s and 70s and the hottest current Korean groups creatively summarized the history of K-pop on one stage.

"With Wednesday's opening concert as a start, various K-pop solo and group artists' will be performing here until the end of the year.
Kim Han-ul, Arirang News."